A better future

Can Popularist Far-Right Keep Europe’s Conservative Parries Out of Office?

"That might not worry some ordinary members of the Conservative Party and their equivalents in other countries, but it might cause problems for a leadership with ambitions to win and hold onto national office"

Across Europe the old parties of government are being challenged by new
insurgent parties, peddling populism and euro-skepticism. In Britain the
rise of UKIP may not only dent the local election results for the
Conservative Party, but may hinder its chances of re-election in 2015.

Writing in Political Studies Dr. Paul Webb analyses how and why
Conservative Party members were defecting to UKIP. He found that those
most likely to defect were ‘cultural conservatives’, who are concerned
about immigration and do not feel valued or respected by their own
leadership.

“Our results suggest that center-right parties across Europe might have
something to worry about as the ideological and policy appeal of the
populist radical right is predominantly cultural rather than economic.
As such, it is highly awkward,” said Webb.

In the long term immigration and changing social values may decrease
‘cultural conservatism’; however, in the short term, trying to match
UKIP’s rhetoric in order to stem the tide of defectors may put off more
socially liberal voters and business backers.

“That might not worry some ordinary members of the Conservative Party
and their equivalents in other countries, but it might cause problems
for a leadership with ambitions to win and hold onto national office,”
said Webb.